Fixing the mask
by Supernerdette
Summary: Leo is the seventh wheel. After the war with the giants, he finally got fed up and snapped. his mask of uncaring comedy broke. He needs to fix it. Where is Leo? Who is he with? What is he doing? Is he ok? (NOT LEO/NICO) Not meant to be a romance fic, but open to interpretations.. ON HIATUS SORRY! TOO BUSY. WILL PROBABLY UPDATE by JANUARY. PLEASE DON'T BE ANGRY, I DO HAVE A LIFE TOO
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: me no own PJO or HOO character, plot, etc**

Why. Why did it have to be today? Why?

The war with the giants was over. Gaia had finally been defeated, but not without heavy losses. Over a third of the total campers had died in the war. Nevertheless, the camps had decided to celebrate their victory. The gods appeared, naiads and satyrs/fauns were celebrating along with the demigods.

Six of the seven were being paraded around the city and retelling the story of the quest until their voices went hoarse. Apollo soon fixed that, though.

The Seventh of the seven, Leo Valdez, was nowhere to be seen. The others hadn't noticed, even Piper and Jason were too caught up in the revelries to think about their friend.

Whilst everyone else partied at camp Jupiter, Leo got Nico to shadow-travel him back to bunker 9. When Nico asked why, Leo just looked at him. Wordlessly, Nico just left him alone.

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(leo POV)

)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) I had had enough. So what, we won against the giants! Great. I was totally fed up. Why? The day I had lost it all was exactly 10 years ago. The day of the machine shop fire. I didn't care about the war. There was a reason that everyone else won. They had things to live for. I didn't.

Picking up my hammer from my tool belt, I ran into the woods. There I started to hit trees. Sounds odd, right? It's my way of getting anger out of my system. The woods were deserted, everyone at camp Jupiter. So what was making that noise? I saw the outline of a girl. She had wavy hair. Immediately I tensed. My guilt-ridden brain saw my mother. This girl was her.

Nonsense. My mother was dead. I had – gods, I had killed her.

Just then, reality hit me. I was seeing my mother. She was dead. I was sure I was hallucinating.

All the stacked up nights of worry came crashing down on me. I tried to hold it in, but inevitably I started overheating. Soon, I couldn't cope. I burst into flames.

"WHY, DAD, WHY?" I yelled at the heavens. "I BURN EVERYTHING, I RUIN EVERYTHING I TOUCH! WHY DID YOU GIVE ME THIS POWER?"

When I had said that, I just broke down. I started to cry, and I wasn't even ashamed. But then something moved. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't be seen like this. Nobody saw through my mask. I lunged for my favourite hammer, and, pulling it out of my tool belt, I turned round.

Before I knew it, I had the praetor of camp Jupiter pinned to a tree with a hammer at her throat.

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I had just seen them. Jason and Piper. Kissing. Again.

Why? Why did he have to do that in front of me? I **knew** he saw me. He was just doing it to annoy me, I realised. With a sigh, I thought _no-one wants you, Reyna. Who would have you when there are people like Piper and Annabeth around?_

Trying to stem the flow of tears, I walked out of the banquet hall. (**AN, I am just making this up. I don't think there is a banquet hall at Camp Jupiter)** As soon as I was sure nobody could see or hear me, I just ran. I ran away from all the cheerful celebrations and happy couples, to find a place to be alone in.

When I had found a secluded tree to sit under, a light caught my eye. A flame. _Wildfire!_ I thought. But instead of running away like a normal person would, I ran to it. The flames were so mesmerising that I was looking at them for over a minute before I realised who was behind them.

Leo.

But, this wasn't Leo as I'd seen him before. I looked closely, and saw tear-tracks down his usually grinning face. That stopped me in my tracks. Leo didn't cry. He was the happy, carefree mechanic who always made everyone laugh.

But I had seen another side to this boy. When he was alone, his eyes would look haunted, like he'd seen something he wish he hadn't.

And whenever he used his fire powers, he would look at the flames like they were burning him. But they couldn't burn him. He was fire resistant.

I sniffed, teary-eyed. As soon as I did I saw Leo, eyes burning, turn. He had me pinned to the tree with his hammer at my throat.

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Leo POV

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"…Reyna?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Leo-you look te-"

"Terrible, I know. It's just not my day today-it never really is." I replied.

Reyna looked at me closely. I turned away; I don't need your pity, Reyna. It won't help.

"Seriously, Leo, what happened to y-"

"What happened to YOU, Reyna? Aren't you supposed to be die-hard partying with the others? Jason… Oh… Jason."

I knew she liked him. Everyone did. I mean, who's gonna be looking at me, Flaming Valdez, when the blond Superman's around?

Reyna blushed a cute crimson colour.

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Reyna POV

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"B-but Leo, your fire powers are nothi-"

Oops. Mentioning that was a BIG mistake. A murderous look flew into his face, and his eyes looked like they were burning.

He threw me up against another tree. "How long were you spying on me for, then?" he hissed at me. "How much did you see?"

The son of Hephaestus looked terrifying. But that close to him, all I could see were the dark circles under his eyes, and the gaunt look on his pale face. I wondered when he had last slept.

Suddenly he dropped me, and crumpled to the ground. I was about to lay my arm on his shoulder to comfort him, when I thought _Whoa there girl._ _He hardly knows you_. A small tear escaped his left eye, before immediately evaporating due to the heat of his skin.


	3. Chapter 3

"S-sorry, Reyna, I don't belong here. I have to go." He said.

Quick as a flash, Leo Valdez ran. _What the hell, Reyna? Why is he running from you? You can catch him!_

But catching him was harder than I thought. I followed his footprints in the mud, until I saw a sticky note on a tree. It read:

**Good luck catching me Ice Queen! By the way, I have experience in running!**

What the hell was that meant to mean? I remembered my last conversation with Jason:

_Well, every demigod has a rough background, right? _ I had said

Jason:_ Yeah… but never ask Leo about his._

Me: _… Umm_

Jason: _he's too good at running_

I pulled myself back into the present. I had no idea what Jason meant at the time, but now…

I ran for about 30 seconds, before finding another note:

**Didn't Jason tell you? I ran away six times… **

**Six foster homes- six successful runaways!**

My heart shattered. I knew next to nothing about Leo's past. Now I knew, I didn't want to. _How could he run away from __**six**__ foster homes?_

The next note was a minute away:

**Given up yet? **

That was all it said. _No, Leo I haven't given up yet,_ I thought. I looked around. I couldn't see the next note. I couldn't see any fire. I couldn't even see his footprints in the mud. Leo was gone. 


	4. Chapter 4

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_LEO POV_

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"uhhh"

I opened my eyes. My makeshift bed of tree branches and leaves hadn't done my back any good in the night. I felt like Enceladus (**AN I have no clue how to spell that)** himself had just chewed me up and spat me out. _Oh gods. Reyna. The Post-it notes_. That was fun. But it kind of hurt, reliving those memories. So now here I was, in the most obvious place.

A dumpster in a side street.

What was left of my battered heart ached when I thought of the rest of the Seven. They were once my family, but like the rest of my so-called families, they had abandoned me. The memories of my past came flooding into my mind, and I was powerless to stop them.

_I am sitting in a dumpster, chilled to the bone. I daren't light myself a fire because of the guilt from the machine shop incident. I am only nine years old. I haven't eaten for a week. _

I pulled myself out of the memories. Memories don't do anyone any good. I ran back to camp half-blood, where I sat in silence, holed up in bunker 9. I felt ashamed of myself for running, because it's all I ever do. To make myself feel better, I built something.

I sat there building, for about 2 hours, which was saying a lot, for an ADHD kid like me. I didn't really know what I was building, I just went on instinct for what to do. After I had finished, I finally looked at what I had built out of a few scraps of celestial bronze and imperial gold.

It was beautiful.

It was a smooth, shiny heart shape, with special fire resistance, so I wouldn't damage it when I got angry. It was my heart, I realised.

Even when I was being left outside, a Seventh Wheel, or being taunted by loads of fine-looking girls, no matter what kind of bloodied, battered state my real heart was in, this heart would always remain perfect and undamaged.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN I haven't updated for a while guys, sorry.**

**Disclaimer:(I keep forgetting these) I don't own any of the characters or anything here….*rolls eyes***

**Thanks for the reviews, though! Where were we…. Oh yes, Leo and his heart. **

**3****rd**** person POV**

Whilst Leo was musing over his new heart, Reyna was in a panic back at camp. She'd gotten her Pegasus, Scipio, to fly her back to camp Jupiter.

She burst into the Senate meeting, and yelled out loud

"Leo is gone!"

There was a moment of awkward silence. Everyone stared at Reyna.

Jason started "But Leo is right there." He gestured to Leo's empty seat, and then blushed when he didn't see Leo there. "Oh."

"Reyna, I wouldn't worry. He's probably just wandered off again, you know how he is." Piper comforted her.

"_I _know how he is. But the question is, do you?" Reyna challenged. Piper looked a bit confused and Jason said "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said!" Reyna growled, "When's the last time you actually had a conversation with Leo?"

"Erm…."

At least Piper had the decency to look embarrassed, Reyna thought. Jason didn't even look sorry, he just shrugged and said

"Leo doesn't mind. He's always ha-"

"Always happy," Reyna snorted. As if. "That's why I found him crying in the forest. But, Jason, Leo won't mind if you forget him for a week or two. He's always happy, after all."

Everyone stared at Jason, not believing he could forget his _best friend_.

"Reyna. Leo doesn't cry. It was probably some kind of joke of his. He seemed happy enough when I last spoke to him, and that was only..." Jason's voice trailed off. Finally he spoke again.

"Two weeks ago". Jason said. He looked horrified, and incredibly guilty, upon realising that he hadn't spoken to Leo for two weeks.

"I'm sorry." Jason whispered into his hands.

"Damn right you should be!" Even Reyna looked shocked after her outburst. She didn't usually have much to do with Leo beyond the occasional smile and wave. "Because you didn't make an effort to talk to Leo, he's gone! We've lost a camper and it's YOUR fault! Where could he be?"

Everyone stared at Reyna.

"Reyna..." Piper said, "Did he leave you any kind of goodbye note?"

Reyna grimaced. Piper had said _you_, not _us_. She knew Reyna had seen him go.

"Ummm…" Reyna answered.

"Well did he or not?" Piper asked. Reyna's eyes met hers.

"How do you know?" the Praetor asked back. Piper's charmspeak had compelled her to say _something_.

Reluctantly, Piper answered her. "He asked me to get him some Post-it notes from your office" Reyna should've been angry at Piper for stealing the stationery. But she was too angry at Jason for ignoring Leo.

"Well…" Reyna composed herself. "He left a trail of notes"

"Let's go then!" Piper yelled. Reyna winced. How could she be so cheerful all the time, even when her friend was in danger?

**AN I have just realised I made a BIG mistake in chapter 1. Reyna came from camp Jupiter, so how did she get to Leo in CHB? I really need geography lessons! **** sorry guys! Don't think I'll change it, too much work. Sorry!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN I don't own PJO or HOO**

Reyna was beginning to despair. _Was she the only one who even liked Leo?_ She thought. Even his _best __friends, _Piper and Jason, didn't look bothered at his disappearance. We came to the first note.

**Good luck catching me, Ice queen! I have experience in running! **

Jason winced as he looked at the note. Piper looked at him questioningly.

"L-Leo only told me _part_ of his past. But he did say-"Jason winced again.

"He said…?" Piper asked. However, there was no need for him to answer her, because they were now at the second note.

**Didn't Jason tell you? I ran away six times…**

**Six foster homes-six successful runaways**.

All the demigods/legacies in their group (Nico di'Angelo, Piper, Reyna, Hazel, Percy, Annabeth, and Frank) turned to Jason. Hazel had pearly tears staining her cocoa skin. Piper spoke to him quietly, but loud enough for the others to hear.

"You never told us this" Jason squirmed uncomfortably and said

"Piper, I'm sure if Leo wanted you guys to know, he would've told you."

"But that's not the point!" Reyna burst out. "What if we NEEDED to know?" Everyone went silent. They'd reached the last note.

**Given up yet?**

"No." Nico quietly murmured. No-one noticed, apart from Hazel, who gave him an odd look.

Piper suddenly spoke

"Well, this isn't getting us anywhere. Where could he have hidden, that he thinks nobody would find him?"

Everyone thought for about three seconds. Reyna met her companions' eyes, and knew they had all come to the same conclusion.

"Bunker 9" Jason said, flatly. This wasn't good, he thought. If Leo was in Bunker 9, nobody else could get in unless he let them. But they tried, anyway.

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Leo was having a breakdown. He would be building something, and absolutely fine, one minute, and crying and screaming the next.

Suddenly his high-tech security system bleeped at him. On the cctv screen, he saw the rest of the Seven, plus Nico and Reyna. His hand burst into flames. _Why were they here? What did they care about him?_ There was a knock at the door.

"LEO VALDEZ! Come out RIGHT NOW! "

Suddenly Leo had to resist the urge to open up the bunker to the public. Strange. _Oh, wait_, he thought. _That's Piper's charmspeak talking!_

Jason took over when no reply came.

"Leo, we know you're in there. Please come out, it will make you feel bet-"

Leo cut him off. There was a screen on the outside of the bunker a bit like a doorbell, so visitors could see inside. Leo switched it on. He didn't want the others to see his face, so he switched the camera to _off_.

"Jason, it will make me feel _better? _"

Everyone outside shrieked at the noise then winced at the harsh words. "Pity I didn't come to you first, then, isn't it? Oh, wait, you weren't _there_."

Jason winced again, before trying to speak again. But Leo spoke first.

"You were always with Piper"

Jason knew that was true. He felt awful. He had been neglecting Leo ever since he'd finished the quest, always too busy with Piper, or signing autographs for the little ones, etc.

Suddenly Leo's voice screamed at them.

"ALL YOU GUYS FORGOT ME!

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!

I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE MY _ONE_ CHANCE AT A PROPER LIFE, WITH PROPER FRIENDS THAT CARED.

BUT NO, YOU'RE ALL OFF DOING YOUR RESPECTIVE JOBS AND HANGING OUT WITH EACH OTHER"

All the demigods looked horrified when they realised this was true. None of them had spared Leo a thought after he'd finished the quest.

"WELL, YOU GUYS MAY NOT GIVE UP, BUT I SURE AS HELL DO! I'M NOT COMING OUT OF THE BUNKER, GUYS. I HAVE ENOUGH STUFF HERE TO LIVE OUT MY WHOLE MISERABLE LIFE, AND IT MAY NOT SOUND GOOD TO YOU, BUT IT SOUNDS A HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN JUST SEVENTH WHEELING AROUND YOU GUYS!"

The speakers self-destructed themselves. Everybody looked ashamed. Finally, Jason said

"Percy, Annabeth, we need you, Frank, and Hazel back at camp Jupiter". Said people left the scene, leaving Piper, Nico, and Reyna.

Piper mumbled something about Jason, then followed the group out of the woods.

**AN I really don't like Grumpy Leo. But it needed to be done. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN is this story worth continuing? Reviews matter!**

**I own nothing.**

* * *

Jason was not dealing well with Leo's outbreak of emotions. He was thinking about his _own_ problems. _Come on, Leo. You're not the only one out there with a nasty background story to tell. _But Jason didn't know about the machine shop fire. Suddenly he was furious.

_Leo! Stop hogging the spotlight! Your story can't be that bad, can it? CALM DOWN, LEO! YOU ALWAYS HOG THE LIMELIGHT! _Jason was ashamed he was feeling like this about Leo's breakdown, but Leo was always being so melodramatic around him. Jason saw, but didn't comprehend.

So, Jason had gone back to camp Jupiter, using the clever portal Hermes had gifted them with. Once the problem had been solved (a certain _someone_ was stealing the little kids' teddy bears and decapitating them), Jason had lots of time to think.

_Why you, Leo? You little liar… _Jason cringed, not believing what he'd thought. But suddenly he realised how much he hated Leo at the moment. He was always joking, never being serious about anything, even the stuff that actually mattered.

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Meanwhile at Bunker Nine

Nico's 2nd person POV

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Nico had been sitting on a rock outside Bunker Nine for at least an hour. His legs had started to go numb, but he ignored it. There was stuff that mattered more. Much more.

Suddenly Reyna, who was sitting on a rock opposite him, got up. Nico waited, and then heard it as well. A faint sobbing noise was coming from the big stone door of Bunker Nine. Leo couldn't see them, because he'd destroyed the video feed from outside.

"Hey, Reyna?" Nico asked cautiously.

"Yeah, Nico?"

"So the only way to open the door is fire, demigod fire."

"Yep."

"And…we know what happens when Leo gets nervous…"

"Fire!"

Two minutes later, they had a plan.

Nico summoned a few skeletal warriors, and they appeared- he hoped- in the bunker.

Suddenly, Leo screamed a few choice cuss words in a mixture of Greek and Spanish.

"_Maldito_!"

Nico looked at Reyna. He sniffed. Smoke! Their plan was working, Nico just had to hope Leo had beaten the warriors. The big stone door opened, and Nico gasped. He'd expected a little fire and smoke, but this… this was something else.

Leo was standing ten feet in the air, almost touching one of the girders of Bunker 9. But that wasn't the alarming bit. Leo was surrounded by flames, roaring flames metres high in the air. The flames were swirling around him, and Leo, fearless, happy Leo, had great big tears streaming down his face as he looked at the flames.

Nico dropped his sword, speechless.

Leo whipped around, and saw him.

_Oh, crap, _Nico thought.

**AN that's that chapter done. i need 3 more reviews to keep going, though. **

**thanks go to **

**byee**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I feel so appreciated now! (Lol no) but yeah.**

**BTW I own nothing. Just thought I'd say…**

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Leo POV

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Why did I have to lose it right then? In front of all my… wait, hang on. Only Nico and Reyna were there. That didn't exactly help matters.

I was curled up, surrounded by flames, in the air, tears streaming down my face. Nico just stared at me, open mouthed. And then, well, then I just went even further. I can't even remember what I said, I just screamed and screamed until everything went black and I passed out.

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Holy Hades.

Leo Valdez, the happy, cheeky mechanic we all knew and loved, was crying.

That was a bit of an understatement. He was bathed in flames swirling high into the air, screaming. My heart shattered at seeing him like this. Suddenly, he collapsed, and the flames died away. He was falling from the roof beams, and unless Reyna and I caught him…

Quickly, Reyna rushed over, and we just about managed to catch Leo before he hit the ground.

"Nico…?" Reyna tentatively asked. "I think he's asleep."

She was right. We lowered him onto his bunk, and I looked at his face. Even in sleep he couldn't find rest. Poor guy. His face was stained with tear-tracks, and the more I looked at it, the worse things I saw. He had huge purple shadows under his eyes, and his face was gaunt and pale.

Leo Valdez screamed, a blood-curdling scream that could make an _empousai _run for cover. He bolted upright, and his eyes shot open. I swore I could see flames reflected in his chocolate brown eyes.

"L-Leo?" I said, sure he was awake. He crumpled back onto his bed. I relaxed. It was only a dream of his and, like all of us knew, demigod dreams are pretty weird. About 30 seconds later, his eyes shot open and he screamed again. I looked over at Reyna. She had silvery tears in her eyes.

This pattern continued all night. Eyes opened, bolted upright, screamed, lay back down. And although there were many bunk beds in bunker 9, neither Reyna nor I could sleep for worry about our friend. I was almost dozing off, when Leo screamed again, much louder.

"_Mama!" _I sprung out of bed, and crashed into Reyna.

"Did you hear-"the look in her eyes told me she'd heard the scream too. None of us- the rest of the seven and Thalia included- had ever asked Leo about his past, because every time a subject like that came up, Leo's hair started steaming like it did whenever he felt uncomfortable. Now we knew about all the foster homes, but…

"_Mamá! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" _Leo's screams rang out again. He shot upright and stood up. His eyes had scarlet flames dancing in them, and pools of tears. Suddenly he burst into flames. Reyna shrieked, and, before I could tell her not to, she grabbed a bucket of water and put him out **(AN not literally…)**. Leo woke up, for certain this time. His face was a mess of emotions, until he noticed me and Reyna standing there.

His expression changed. Within seconds, Leo had literally rebuilt himself. His happy grin was back on his face, and his brownhair in bouncy curls.

"Oh, hey Nico. And Reyna! What a nice surprise!" Leo said. If I hadn't seen him writhing around in flames minutes earlier, I wouldn't think he was any different from before.

"Nice try, Flame Kid, but I'm not fooled." Reyna's icy voice rang out, and Leo's face paled even more.

(((((((((((((((((((((Reyna POV** AN sorry about all of the POV changes here. I'm trying (and failing) to make it more interesting.**

"Leo, we both saw you-"I winced, unsure of what to say. Leo was, I won't lie, amazing. He had rebuilt himself from nothing, and I wanted to believe none of this had happened. But it had happened, and Nico and I needed to help Leo.

"I know." Leo said, cringing. "There are some things I need to tell you."

Leo then went on to tell us his whole life story, from working in the machine shop with his mother, to the fire, to getting to Camp Half-Hlood.

When he had finished talking, we were all speechless.

"So that's why you don't like using your gift." Nico managed to croak out. I glared at him, like _surely saying that isn't good_.

"No, it's okay. And yes, that is why I hate my pyrokinesis." Leo answered. He was being unbearably calm about this. But that was just another one of his many strengths, I decided. We just sat there, in silence, until I asked Leo a burning question.

"Leo, do Jason and Piper know this?"

"No" he replied, "Nobody else does, apart from good ol' Dad." His apparent cheerfulness about this was infuriating.

"So why…" The question died in my throat. Nico finished it for me.

"Why tell us?"

**AN do you hate me for that cliffhanger? **

**Ohh, I am evil!**

**Bwahahahaaaa!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 10: Why Tell Us?

**Oh Gods! So many reviews! I know everyone hates ANs, but please read this. Every time I see a new review, it makes my day! So, yeah. Thanks for the reviews, eager readers. You know who you are. And, please read my other story, Leo and the hot air balloon. It's funny as heck.**

**Anyway, on with chapter 10. (or 9, i've lost count)**

**( Also, thanks to my awesome beta)**

**_Beta's Note:_**

**_Um, and RainbowRaptor13 doesn't own Percy. Just thought I'd add that._ [liq]**

* * *

Jason was annoyed, because the bell tower clock was broken. None of the Vulcan kids could fix it, as it was about a gazillion degrees in there, because the cooling system had _also_ broken. What really annoyed Jason was the fact that he knew _exactly_ who could fix it. And the person in question was missing in action.

Leo had (apparently) still not spoken to any of them. He was still shut up in his bunker, having the king of all temper tantrums. Leo was a bit of a diva, Jason thought. It wasn't as if any of them hadn't had a rough past. Jason's mom had died, Frank's grandma was probably dead, Piper's dad had been kidnapped once, so had Percy's mom, and Annabeth wasn't speaking to _her_ family.

Straight away, Jason came to the conclusion that Leo was being overly melodramatic.

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Flashback

"_So why tell us?" Nico had asked._

Leo looked a round him quickly, as if he expected a monster to suddenly jump out at him. He slipped what looked like a Christmas bauble out of his toolbelt. I looked at Reyna questioningly. She just shook her head at me.

Leo sniffed. He looked so miserable, and I didn't know what to do to make him feel better. He sniffed again, and I offered him a tissue. He gave a weak smile and pulled a pack of Kleenex out of his toolbelt instead. Reyna went over and sat by him, on one of the many workbenches of bunker 9 and pulled him into a hug.

Leo looked like she'd just admitted to being an alien, or something. With a pang of sympathy, I realised that this kid hadn't had a real hug for about seven years. Poor guy. **(AN I know Leo is older than Nico. But technically, Nico is ****_way _****older. Any suggestions on how not to make this cliché, PM me)**

"I told you two because…" Leo trailed off, his voice getting smaller and smaller until it was no longer heard.

Reyna looked at Leo questioningly.

"I-I told you two because… well, because… Who else would I tell?" he burst out, hiding his face in his hands.

I looked at Reyna. She shook her head. We both realised what Leo had said was absolutely true.

_Who else _would_ he tell?_

"What about Jason or Piper?" Reyna asked him.

"Too busy sucking faces," Leo answered sharply. Reyna looked puzzled, and then turned bright red when she understood. She coughed subtly into a fist.

Leo burst out laughing at her face, before he abruptly stopped and remembered the previous subject. It was amazing how his expression changed- one minute happy, the next one looking like he was being _tortured_. Was he pretending, all of those times he laughed, or even smiled? Did he do that on the quest?

"Jason and Piper were too _busy_. So were Percy and Annabeth, Hazel and Frank. I had no-one, no-one who would actually _listen_, actually _care_ about me," Leo's expression stayed the same throughout what he said, conveying no emotion whatsoever. It was like he was a broken machine, with no hope of ever being fixed.

He had a good poker face.

**AN I know everyone hates reading author's notes. But I wanted to say, if you read this chapter please review with any comments, and leave a (nick)name in the box. I'm getting a lot of guest reviews, and I need to check they aren't the same person just trolling me. Once again, thanks for reading.**

**Ok, ok guys. I know everyone hates Author's Notes. But it needs to be done. *Dodges pineapple thrown from crowd* No! Don't hurt me!**

**Thanks for all the reviews. **_Yeah, whatever_

**No, I mean it. Every time I read a new review, I get the warm-and-fuzzy****feeling. Especially if it contains constructive advice.**

**Thanks particularly to reviewer **_**Andrea **_**(sorry, if ya didn't want your name in this) who gave me the idea to make Jason a bit cruel/evil.**

**Also, thanks to reviewer Olympia5000, for also giving me the evil-Jason idea. (**_**you people are so alike sometimes, it's scary).**_

**Anyone else who's reviewed, gave constructive criticism/advice, or even just took the time to read my story, you know who you are.**

**Real sorry again, for boring you people with the Author's Note. Anyone have suggestions, want to point out mistakes, etc, just PM me.**

***dodges frozen mango from **_**Liq.***_

**Yeah, thanks to you too!**

**seriously, I am sooo sorry for doing this. I know everyone hates thinking a chpter is new, and its an AN.**

***winces***

**Grrrrrrrr**

**(**_BTW that's my rainbow-dinosaur growl. Don't be scared. I'm not crazy) (Yet)_

_and, to visitor meow (guest), that is exactly what I plan to do._


	10. the arrival of Jason

Jason was not feeling the love. After the Vulcan kids he got to try and fix the clock tower failed, for the fifth time, he decided to go hunt down the mechanic he knew could fix it.

Leo.

Using the clever portal-thingy Hermes had set up after the war, Jason travelled to Camp Half-Blood. When he got there, though, he was greeted with a strange sight.

(((((((((((((((((((((((No-one POV. About a few hours earlier))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

With a LOT of persuasion, Nico and Reyna had managed to get Leo out of the bunker, after about 3 days of him refusing to do just about anything, and only eating the bare minimum on the demand of Festus, who's head Leo had mounted on the wall as a memorial to the Argo II. But now, Leo was better. Ish.

Nico had (without Leo knowing) sent an urgent Iris-message to Jason, insisting that he, too, hear Leo's story. Jason had point-blank refused, claiming he was very busy. When Leo heard this, at first he was very angry, even furious, with Nico. When he calmed down, he asked Nico a question.

"When do I have to spill the beans?" he said, quietly.

"Erm, Leo…" Reyna mumbled unsurely. She was there because Leo had refused to be parted from Nico or herself. He was terrified to be left alone again, and insisted on always being with either Nico or Reyna. This was a pain, but because Percy and Annabeth were taking their turn at Praetor duty, Reyna had lots of free time.

"Leo…" Nico said slowly, the way you would talk to a startled animal, "Jason isn't coming over. He said he was busy."

Busy. What a surprise. Everyone he had tried to connect with, befriend, or even just talk to, had made that excuse. Not now, Leo. We're busy.

Leo scowled in response.

"He'll come over here soon. When he needs me to fix something, or make a new sword," Leo spat, like they left a bad taste in his mouth. He got up and started agitatedly pacing back and forth outside Bunker 9. "That's the only reason he'll ever come to me. He and his little girlfriend."

It broke Reyna's heart to hear him say that. The worst thing was, she had to agree- it was true. Leo was only spoken to when someone needed something made or repaired. Even Piper and Jason didn't talk to him anymore, abandoning the façade of friendship.

The trio walked back to the dining pavilion in silence, apart from Nico, because his stomach kept rumbling. (It was, admittedly, lunchtime.)

Suddenly, the magic portal-thing glowed and spat out a very confused Jason Grace.

Everyone was silent. Actually, there weren't many campers there, because most of them were visiting Camp Jupiter or weren't year-round campers. The people that were there, though, were completely still.

Leo stood up abruptly, scraping his chair noisily along the floor. Chiron trotted up to him quietly, completely ignoring Jason.

The campers stared at Leo as Chiron gave him a concerned look over. Usually, he wasn't the most popular camper, so all the attention made him squirm. _Jeez, stop staring already_, he thought, sparks threatening to ignite in his hair. _It's not like I'm gonna do a cartwheel or something._

Jason coughed nervously from the front of the Grecian columns. Leo whipped his head around, eyes wide like a startled deer.

**(let's just pretend chiron knows his story, ok?)**

"Leo…" Chiron began, putting a hand on Leo's shoulder. Leo whispered into the centaur's ear.

"I- I told Nico. And-and Reyna," he murmured in a barely audible volume.

"Jason?" Chiron asked.

Leo closed his eyes, tears blurring his vision. "No," he choked, and promptly turned away and ran.

Leo ran like the wind. No-one had seen him run like that before, but Leo kept running until he reached the forest. Reyna, Nico, and the rest of the Greek campers gaped at his disappearing figure.

He vanished like a pinprick into the cloak of the woods.

Chiron looked up at Jason, and with his steady gaze came the inquiring and accusing looks of the Greeks.

"Ah. I see. Nico, Reyna. Go." Chiron told us. Nico looked at Reyna. She nodded, determined.

They both sped into the forest after Leo.

Jason was left standing awkwardly on the stone tiles behind the portal, looking bewildered by what he'd just seen. Even Chiron glared at him momentarily.

Everyone started murmuring nervously, trying to pretend they weren't as they tried to make out what Chiron said to Leo. One thing was certain, though: Leo wasn't himself. And Jason was to blame.

**A.N d'you guys hate me for this fluffy, cliffy chapter? I hope not! Anyway, review, blah blah blah. And if you have any suggestions for after what we all know will happen, PM me.**

**-raptor**

**Liq: Yo, and RR doesn't own. :) Just want to give a shout out to Fluttershy, our 50th reviewer Epic Guest! *drumroll* I'm out.**

**-Raptor here again. thanks, liq. bye guys!**

**remember-if you like it, review. if you hate it, review. if you couldnt care less, REVIEW!**

**75th reviewer get's shout out and/or minor oc/ advert for story. **


	11. Chapter 11 (here comes Piper)

**AN woo-hoo! 55 reviews! (As this is being written). Everyone who reviewed, thanks. You know who you are, guys. Let's continue.**

**liq: And Raptor doesn't own. :D Thanks for all the great reception, guys!**

**Jason POV**

Jason was _very_ confused. He'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood _just_ in time to see a very upset-looking Leo sprint away from the dining pavilion. Then, a bewildered Nico and Reyna had quickly jogged after him.

It had been a very strange week.

Chiron trotted up to him with a sour look on his face. Jason couldn't understand- what had he done wrong? For that matter, why was the entirety of Cabin Nine glaring at him?

There was a moment of awkward silence when, behind Jason, the portal flashed pink and spit out a trussed-looking daughter of Aphrodite.

"Jason?" the girl asked, pulling herself up from the ground.

"Hey, Pipes," Jason answered. Piper's face had a greenish tinge- she always preferred to travel by Pegasus than to use the portal, it made her feel queasy. Something must have gone wrong at Camp Jupiter to make her jump through the portal- or worse, trouble must have bloomed in Camp Half-Blood. Word travelled fast, and apparently Jason was one of the last to know.

"What's going on?" she asked him. Jason squirmed under her steady gaze, not wanting her to think he'd been mean to Leo.

"Nothing, Beauty Queen," he replied confidently. Piper's eyes sharpened and narrowed to tiny slits. _Damn, she knows I'm lyin_g, he thought resignedly.

"Jason Grace_,_ you _will_ tell me what is happening right _now_ or gods help me, I will curse you for a month! Understand?" she hissed, coming up face to face with him. He had to admit, an angry, battle-hardened Piper was a force to be reckoned with, _and pretty cute_ _too_.

"N-nothing?" It came out like a question, so Jason knew he was done for. "Okay, okay! I was trying to get Leo to come fix the clock tower, so I came through the portal. Leo was whispering to Chiron, and then when he saw me he completely freaked out, and ran away. Nico and Reyna followed him."

Jason looked at Piper nervously. He had good reason. Last time Piper was angry with him, she got her cabin to curse him so he went around wearing absurdly clownish lip-gloss and eyeshadow for a week. Leo had got _lots_ of photos of that one. (Looking back, it _had_ been pretty hilarious, the son of the almighty Jupiter wearing makeup. Then again it wasn't funny anymore when Jason realized Piper's daughter-of-Aphrodite powers were getting _stronger.)_

"Bunker 9," Piper said, after a long pause. Jason jumped, the sudden noise surprised him. He looked around; all the other campers had gone to their evening activities.

"Bunker 9," Piper repeated, "That's where he'll be."

"Let's go get our mechanic back!" Jason agreed, and they set off into the woods to find him.

**AN sorry for the fluffy chapter. Listen, I need people to decide, should Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel (if I even include them) be on Team Leo for the argument/fight, or team Jason? PM me or review with your answers. I'll try to do this according to votes.**

**-Raptor**

**liq: Ze beta votes for Percabeth on Team Leo and Frank on team Jason**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN Chapter 12 here we go! I know everyone wants longer chapters, but you keep nagging me to update. Don't get me wrong, I like that this story's popular, but I'm not a writing machine. So this chapter will do, and I'll try and update more soon. btw, don't own anything.  
****Team Leo****  
Nico  
Reyna  
Frank  
(maybe Hazel…)  
****Team Jason  
****Piper  
Octavian (if he makes an appearance)  
Hylla (if she makes an appearance)**

**Chapter 12**

Frank was annoyed. He, also, had come from camp Jupiter, this time to get Jason back because there was an urgent iris-message from, in fact, Hephaestus. He didn't know why Leo's dad had called Jason, only that he said it was _very urgent_. So, Frank had come, along with Hazel, to camp half-blood. When they arrived, everyone stared at them from the amphitheatre where they were eating dinner. The flames in the bonfire sputtered brown, indicating something was _very_ wrong at camp. And even though there was still a lot of tension between the new camps, Frank _was_ one of the seven, and so he hoped people would listen and tell him what was going on.

"Erm… Hi guys…" He said, nervously. Someone laughed at the back.

"Yeah, he has a way with words." Hazel contributed, to the camp's amazement. "So what's going on?" She asked, noting the downcast looks on the Hephaestus table (cabin 9). Hazel counted the people there; Nyssa, Shane, nine or ten other kids she knew but not by name, Jake, and little Harley. Only fourteen of them.

She saw the sad looks on their faces, especially Harley, who was like a little brother to Leo… Leo! Leo wasn't there.  
The only reason cabin 9 would be like this was if something had happened to their head counsellor.

"Leo." Frank blurted out. Hazel was surprised; as endearing and cute, as funny and brave as Frank was, he was never the brightest light on the tree, so to speak, and so she hadn't expected him to understand. Everyone stared at him. Chiron trotted up behind Hazel and Frank, and asked (rather told) them to come up to the big house.

"Why?" Hazel enquired, "Why do we need to go there?"

"You'll see…" The old centaur answered, "Percy and Annabeth are there too."

This didn't really answer her question, so she just waited. Soon, they were at the big house. Chiron ushered them in, past Mr D who was playing pinochle with a nervous-looking satyr on the porch. Frank felt sorry for the satyr. Only Chiron had ever managed to beat the middle-aged god at pinochle.

When they got into the big house, they saw Percy and Annabeth sitting at the council table drinking lemonade. _Things must be serious_, Frank thought, _if Chiron has the refreshments out._ Hazel drew up a chair next to Annabeth, and Frank sat next to Percy. Chiron stood (because he can't fit in a chair in centaur form) at the head of the long table.

"Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel." He began, "I have called you here to discuss a very serious issue with one of our campers"

Frank looked at Percy. He looked shocked, and Frank realised that he and Annabeth had no more idea of what was going on than himself and Hazel.

"What sort of issue?" the daughter of Athena asked Chiron. The old centaur wrinkled his face, thinking.

"It's… hard to explain." He answered, "It's kind of… private to the camper in question." Hazel gasped, putting the puzzle pieces together. It must be about Leo, she thought. He wasn't at dinner with his cabin mates; every single other camper present was there except Nico, but he often left camp to eat, claiming the atmosphere was 'too cheery' for him.

"So why are you here to discuss it with us?" Percy asked. Annabeth looked shocked, as if she couldn't believe her idiot boyfriend was actually asking an intelligent question.

"Good point." Chiron noted, "I have called you here to discuss it because I believe you can help him".

"But Chiron," Annabeth pointed out, "You haven't told us what the issue is, how are we supposed to help him if we don't know what's wrong?"

"You will know." Chiron snapped his fingers, and suddenly the four of them were falling.

They landed with a bump on a hard, cold, concrete floor.

"Where are we?" Annabeth asked. She hated not knowing things.

"It looks like some kind of warehouse" Hazel answered. Frank looked down. His body was transparent.

"Erm, guys…" he mumbled, "We're kind of…ghosts." Everyone else looked at themselves and gasped.

Suddenly they heard laughing. They hid behind the nearby chassis of a car, and watched as a small boy of about five or six ran in from a door opposite them. Hazel stifled a gasp. Everyone stared at her.

"Look at the kid!" she hissed back to them, "Look at him!" Annabeth looked at the kid. He had dark brown curly hair and a mischievous face. He had slightly pointed ears and was holding what looked like a miniature helicopter.

"I-It's Leo!" Annabeth exclaimed loudly. Percy and Frank looked at the kid, then nodded earnestly.  
"It's a younger Leo!" Percy added.

The young boy squealed in excitement as he heard a voice calling.  
"Mijo, where are you?" The voice sounded female, mid to late twenties.

Hazel looked at Annabeth, who nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"That's his mom." She told the boys behind her. They gaped at her in shock.

Little Leo laughed aloud **(AN tongue twister!)** as the woman came into view, peering behind the door. The small boy ran to his mom and hugged her. She led him back out of the door, and suddenly everything faded.

When Hazel could see, she immediately noticed she was with the others, next to a tree. Percy pointed at a picnic bench in the distance with a little kid on it. Sure enough, when they crept up, it was little Leo. A woman in a black shawl with a peacock feather in her hair **(AN I want people to recognise her as Tia/Hera)** was humming a song to him, whilst he drew a boat with crayons. Annabeth looked at the boat picture intently.

"That's the Argo 2." She said. Immediately, everyone stared at the picture, which was difficult, because Little Leo was focused on it so much. Weirdly, neither him nor the woman in the shawl seemed to notice them. Percy, Frank and Hazel were looking at the picture. They knew Leo was clever, but to design a boat like that aged five? Wow.

Annabeth stared at the lady in the shawl. Percy whistled.

"Guys, is that a peacock feather?" He asked, "That means the lady…" He trailed off, and Frank finished his sentence.

"That's Hera." Everyone looked shocked. Suddenly, Little Leo cried. He reached for his picture, but the wind blew it away from him into the sky.

"It isn't time yet, my little hero," Hera tutted, "You'll have your chance." She promptly disappeared. _Go figure_, Annabeth thought. Little Leo cried again, wanting his picture. He put his hands on the picnic table, and cried louder.

Frank stiffened. Hazel nudged him, and got Percy and Annabeth's attention.

"Look at his hands!" she hissed. They did, and saw flames burning into the picnic table.

Everyone gasped.

"I didn't know he was _born_ with Pyrokinesis!" Frank stated, "I thought he was blessed with it when he got to camp!" This was true to them all, mainly because Leo had never talked about using his 'gift' before he came to camp.

Everything went black again. This time, they were back in the warehouse. Little Leo was looking anxiously at his mom, who said, "Mijo, it'll be fine. I'm just going to get a hammer from the workshop. Wait for me." Leo's mom left. He started to cry. Suddenly, a Lady wearing earthen robes approached him.

"Tia?" he asked the woman anxiously.

"No, just a family resemblance." She answered coldly. Hazel recognised the voice, and almost choked. It was the same voice that had possessed her mom, Queen Marie.

"That's Gaia." She told the group behind her. "It's her voice." Everyone was silent. _How could Gaia have visited Leo?_ _Wouldn't she have killed him?_

There was a clang from the workshop. Suddenly the door slammed shut, sealing Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank off from Leo's mom, Esperanza. The heavy door locked itself. Gaia laughed as Little Leo pounded on the walls, shouting for his mom. Hazel could hear Esperanza shouting back frantically, tapping on the walls in Morse code. Little Leo moved into the way as Gaia started towards the door.

"Maybe the Fates prevent me from killing you now, but I can still break your spirit" She hissed at Little Leo. The small boy protested as she drew closer to the door. Leo exploded into flames, and Gaia said "And I have already won!"

Hazel's eyes filled with tears as she watched Little Leo crumple to the ground, unconscious but still aflame. The next scene was outside the smoking remains of the machine shop, and the small group watched as a paramedic gently told little Leo that his mother hadn't made it out. Then he was pulled away roughly by a police officer, and the image faded.

The next image was of an older Leo, about ten or eleven, sleeping rough on his coat under a bridge. Then Leo slamming the door of a house, _maybe a foster home_, and running out. There were lots of these images, of Leo running away, then one of him being caught and sent to the Wilderness School by a police officer. Everything went dark again, and when they could see again, they saw they were back in the big house.

"I never knew." Frank managed to mumble.

"Me neither" Hazel choked out.

"Nor me" Annabeth admitted

"…Nope." Percy stated. Hazel looked around the group, and saw tears in everyone's eyes.

Chiron trotted back in fretfully.

"I see you have found out the problem." He said, distractedly. "It seems there is something very dangerous happening. May I ask you all to get to bunker 9, _now._"

**Hehe. I love cliffhangers. Sorry if you don't. Review, blah, blah, blah. I tried to make this one longer… **

**Question! (How) Should I include Octavian and Hylla? **

**PM/review answer! All advice (except flames) appreciated!**


	13. Chapter 13-the shower incident

**I know everyone hates ANs. But they're important, so pleeaaasssseee read.  
I'm guessing you're all waiting for the (fight) scene, but I'm afraid I'll have to leave that for a while. That DOESN'T mean this story is on hiatus. It isn't. I'm just waiting to do the fight scene so I can make it really good. And I **_**know**_** you guys want me to update soon, but it takes **_**time**_**. And I like to think I have a life outside Fanfic, even if it's not true. **

**Don't own.**

**Enjoy. **

Leo was M-A-D. He couldn't believe he'd lost it like that, and had had to run away from dinner. Also, Leo was pretty hungry because that dinnertime would've been the first time he'd eaten for about a week. His stomach growled in protest as he sat back on his workbench. There was a tentative knock at the bunker door. **(Sorry, this isn't Jason)**

"Who is it?" Leo asked, though it came out more like a bark. He could've turned on the video feed, but he didn't want _them_ seeing him, so he didn't. Instead of answering, Nico just appeared in the bunker with Reyna at his side. Leo breathed out a shaky sigh. He got up off his workbench and staggered towards them. He was nearly halfway across the floor of Bunker 9 when his legs gave out and he collapsed. Reyna rushed up and caught him before he face-planted the hard stone floor.

Reyna was seriously strong, Leo noted, because although he was no son of Jupiter in terms of muscle, a **(just pretend it's just after the war and Leo's sixteen)** sixteen year-old son of Hephaestus was _not _light. Leo tried to get back up, but the praetor of New Rome refused.

"You'll just fall back down again." Reyna insisted, dragging him over to the makeshift bed Leo had made for the bunker. Leo slackened his grip. That felt like a metaphor for his whole life; every time he tried to get up, to overcome his past, he was knocked down again. Leo sat down on the bed and rubbed his eyes. He looked so much like a _child, _with his height (or lack of) and tear-stained face, Reyna nearly cried.

"I bring tidings of great joy, Master Leo!" Nico exclaimed. Leo looked at him, grateful for easing the tension in the room. Reyna snorted.

"He means, we brought you a pizza." She told Leo. Leo knew Reyna wasn't comfortable at Camp Half-Blood, being a purely Roman demigod-there was no Greek personification of Bellona. Therefore, there was no cabin Reyna was at home in. Leo felt a pang of sympathy because he, too, didn't feel at home here. Reyna stayed mostly in the Athena cabin, which meant she got a lot of gossip from Percy and Annabeth.

"PIZZA!" Leo shouted. Reyna rolled her eyes; it was obvious that, being a boy, Leo would always prioritize food.

"Erm, Leo…" Reyna added, "Have you seen a mirror lately?" Leo winced; he knew he must look a mess. He grabbed a mirror out of his toolbelt and gasped.

It was like another person. There were smudges of grease and oil all over his face, mingled with tear tracks and the odd bit of blood. His arms were covered in various paint samples.

"Okay, shower first, then pizza." Reyna commanded. Scowling, Leo ducked into the makeshift bathroom for a shower. He took off his shirt but kept his trousers on, **(AN I have no idea why I wrote this, except to keep it PG.) **because he could just use his fire to dry them later.

He left the dial on cold; one of the bad things about his fire/heat resistance was that he could never get a hot shower as the water always felt cool on his skin due to his Pyrokinesis. He turned on the shower and used an old bar of soap to scrub off the dirt from his skin. He was suddenly overwhelmed by loneliness; with no idea what brought it on. He climbed out of the shower and quickly _flamed on_ to dry himself. He looked in the mirror; he still looked a mess but didn't quite look as grubby as before.

Suddenly he remembered why he felt so lonely. It was the soap, _Chilli Essence._ It reminded him of his mom, which in turn made him feel lonely. It must've been the same soap his mom used, he realised.

Nico hammered on the door.  
"You done yet?" he shouted, "Reyna made me stay here in case you collapse again!"

Leo picked up his shirt and got out of the makeshift bathroom. Nico quickly went in and shut the door. Soon after, Leo heard Nico yell a stream of words bad enough to make him wash his mouth out with _Chilli Essence_.

Nico emerged from the bathroom in his boxers. Reyna, who Leo assumed was behind the corner, started to look at them before she made a sound a bit like a mouse being trodden on as she hastily covered her eyes and turned away.

"Gah!" Nico said, "Doesn't that shower have a 'hot' mode?" Nico, being the son of Hades, always had cold skin and felt cold.

"It does, just turn the lever." Leo explained. Reyna squeaked again, making both boys blush fiercely and quickly pull their shirts over their heads

"Sorry, erm…" Leo muttered to Reyna, flustered.

"Anyway, you were saying about the _hot _function…?" Reyna answered, which made Leo blush even more.

"Y-yeah, just pull the lever to the left." He told Nico, who was watching the two demigods like a TV soap.

"Wait, why was it even on cold in the first place?" Reyna questioned. Nico looked at Leo expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"I can't feel hot water," Leo explained, "I can't feel much heat at all, it all just feels cold. I can feel hot food, just it never burns me and I can't feel warmth on my skin at all."

Nico's jaw dropped as he realised what Leo meant. "So you can't have a hot bath or shower?"

"Nope" He answered. Reyna smirked and joined in-

"Now we know why he doesn't wash!" She teased.

"Hey!" Leo protested, but he laughed all the same. Usually whenever he laughed with people it sounded (and was) fake, but for now Leo was happy.

He was just having fun with his friends.


	14. Chapter 14 OC time

**Yo ma peeps. Don't own anything. Shout out to: **

**Random Demigod (guest)**

**Crystal di Angelo**

**Whatupmypeeps (guest)**

**And, fluddershy, Thanks for the OC, no you're not the 75th reviewer, you're the 96th. I forgot. But I'll try and fit in your OC somewhere. Sorry if you don't like them, but you told me nothing about her appearance so I'll try and make it up. Hope you like her!**

**And, to asdfghjkl (guest) Raptor is writing the story, Liq is beta-ing/editing it for me. **

**These people are epic. And have epic ideas. And are scarily like me. Thanks!**

Octavian never trusted the Greeks after one of them blew up New Rome. Granted, he was _supposedly_ possessed, but even so, no roman demigod would've been weak enough to let themselves be possessed. He also despised them because he felt jealous. They got the amazing, relaxed camp, and Oracle of Delphi, and freakin' Mount Olympus itself! (Yeah, the empire state building.) Why couldn't the romans have come first, and had the oracle, instead of the dodgy sibylline books? Why did the Greeks come first?

So it was a bit of a surprise for Octavian to find himself _wanting_ to see the Greeks. He had to admit, their Hephaestus kids were much better at mechanics than the Vulcan kids back at Camp Jupiter. The Vulcan kids didn't have enough creativity. All they could do was obey the rules, and as much as Octavian hated to say, the Greeks were much better at the creative aspect of things.

Octavian wanted to see the Greeks because the powerful Praetors of New Rome had _still_ not returned with a Hephaestus kid, and had been at Camp Half-Blood for so long, he was worried for them. It would be just like those scheming Greeks to set up an ambush to take down New Rome, or kidnap their Praetors for a ransom. With this thought in his head, Octavian set off down the labyrinth of New Rome's roads towards the portal. His thoughts were wandering, and his head was too full of battle plans to notice the Queen of the Amazons making a beeline for him across the road.

"Ouch!" Hylla muttered grumpily as she bumped into the descendant of Apollo.

"S-sorry!" Octavian stuttered, terrified. Those Amazonian warriors could get pretty scary, especially with their battle forklifts with sharpened prongs. Hylla grumbled and picked herself up off the dusty road, dusting off her shiny silver armour.

"It's okay. Actually…" Hylla said, "Actually… I wanted to speak to you about something."

Octavian frowned, _it wasn't like an Amazon to come to a male for help…_ he pulled himself out of these thoughts.

"What can I help you with?" He replied. This was the wrong response. Hylla scowled, her opinions clear in her face.

"I- I was worried about Reyna." Hylla answered. Octavian was shocked. He knew the two daughters of Bellona were close, but to be openly worried about each other? Even Jason tried to hide his worry from others.

"What about Reyna?" Octavian asked, curious.

"I'm worried about her …friends." Hylla replied, as they started to walk to the portal, "She's not very… _social_… and I'm worried about how that's affecting her life." Hylla finished.

"Well… everyone at camp is her friend-" Octavian stated, but Hylla cut him off.

"Everyone at camp _fears_ her. Or _respects_ her. That's not the same as a friend."

By now, they had reached the portal. Octavian expected the Amazon queen to leave him, but she stepped through the portal as well, much to his surprise.

When the hazy purple mist of the portal dispersed, Octavian and Hylla were greeted by an interesting sight. There was about twenty or so demigods gathered around the table, playing what looked like a game of (strip) poker. So far, three people had lost socks, and one (MALE) demigod had his shirt off. There was a pile of assorted hoodies and jumpers under the table.

The card dealer blushed a furious shade of red and stood up.

"Ok, we'll carry on later." She said, and everyone's face dropped. "So, what can I do for you two?" she asked, whilst shrugging back into her hoodie, which had a bright yellow winking smiley face on it.

"I need to see Reyna." Hylla said, and pointed to Octavian, "Him too." As soon as the demigod saw Octavian, her face lit up with a mischievous grin, and she flicked her long, curly brown hair out of her face to reveal a cheeky grin and lots of freckles. After she realised what Hylla said, she frowned.

"It's… complicated." She said, then grinned and dangled Octavian's wallet in front of his nose.

"Delilah Smith, Daughter of Hermes at your service!" She exclaimed, returning his wallet and denarii to the confused legacy.

Delilah led them to the big house, where they sat down and drank lemonade, or rather; Hylla and Delilah drank lemonade, whilst Octavian looked at his drink suspiciously.

"So… what's so complicated?" Hylla asked, confused.

"Well…" Delilah replied, "Reyna probably won't be back anytime soon."

Octavian looked like he was about to explode. "WHAT?" he yelled, "But we need our praetors!"

Delilah burst out laughing at the expression on Octavian's face. "Reyna is sort of busy making sure the camp doesn't _explode_. Don't worry, Nico's helping too." She explained, as if this would comfort him.

"Making sure the camp doesn't explode?" Hylla asked, "Isn't that _dangerous_?"

"Er, only if you happen to be Piper or Jason or…" Delilah answered, "Reyna's sort of playing therapist to Leo."

If Octavian could've been more confused, he would've. "So… how is that stopping the camp exploding?" He asked hesitantly.

"It's Leo." The second (or third) -in-command of the Hermes cabin said, "He makes things explode."

"Understatement!" Octavian yelled, "He blew up half of New Rome!"

Suddenly the sky lit up as forked lightning snaked its way across the dark night. **(Heh, the Dark Knight!) **Delilah looked terrified. She quickly got up, knocking over Octavian's untouched lemonade. The other two demigods (Legacies?) followed her as she pressed a button on the wall and led them into a bunker that was occupied by what looked like the whole of Camp Half-Blood, even Chiron was there. Everyone was terrified.

"What's up?" Octavian asked. Hylla kicked him in the shin. Everyone looked even more scared.

"…Well," Chiron explained, "There is a fight between two demigods." Hylla could see more lightning through the small skylight in the bunker. "We thought it best to let them fight it out." Several very muscly demigods glared at Chiron.

"You thought it best to let them fight it out, we didn't." A girl with brown hair, combats, and an army jacket pointed out.

"Point taken, Nyssa," Chiron replied, "But this is safer for everyone."

**Hehehe. Cliffie! I am evil! Thanks guys. Any ideas for the big fight, PM me. 100th reviewer gets a virtual feast!**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN sorry about the lack of updates, guys. But y'know, busy etc. I'm gonna try and put some of the fight scene here, so I'm sorry if it's a bit rubbish. I'm not great at action writing.**

**Thanks **_**so **_**much to reviewers, especially MageBreaker (Guest). You gave me loads of cool ideas, and I plan to use them as the story progresses. (Feel the ire of Leo's fire.) Lol.**

**Onwards!**

**-Raptor**

Jason was fed up. He had been waiting outside bunker 9 for about an hour and a half, and had yet to see a sign of Leo. Of course, having some alone time in the woods with Piper had been great, but there's only so much kissing you can do in a day, Jason thought. Piper grabbed his hand nervously as they heard a growl in the distance.

"It's okay, Pipes. The forest has loads of monsters in it. None of them come near bunker 9 anyway."

Piper still didn't let go of his hand, which Jason was kind of glad about. He liked his girlfriend.

Inside the bunker, Leo could see everything that was going on through his security monitors outside. He scowled as he saw his two _best friends_ smooching outside. Reyna put a hand on his shoulder, and Nico looked furtively at a bowl of candy on his desk.

"Sure, help yourself." Leo told Nico, who promptly started scoffing the candy. Suddenly there was a knock on the huge stone door. Jason wanted to come in. Nico looked up; his mouth stained various colours from the sweets in the bowl. Reyna flinched.

"Yo, Leo!" Jason hollered, "You in there? Cause we've got a problem at camp Jupiter and we need you to fix it." Leo's eyes darkened as he heard this.

"It's the only reason anyone hangs out with me, because they want me to fix stuff." Leo commented humourlessly. Reyna looked like she was about to contradict him, but didn't.

"I'm going to let him in." Leo stated, surprising everyone in the room. Nico and Reyna backed up, looking scared, as Leo opened the door and let Piper and Jason come in.

"Hey, Leo." Piper greeted him. Jason wasted no time and began to explain the clock tower problem at Camp Jupiter. Leo listened intently-the answer was so_ obvious_. All they needed to do was climb up and replace the widget spring, and possibly get a new liytimosier. **(AN I am making this up as I know next to nothing about how clocks work. Sorry.) **Piper was wandering around the bunker, looking at Leo's new project, which was another magic table like Buford, labelled _Buffette. _Leo patiently explained to Jason how to deal with the clock problem. After Jason was satisfied, he too wandered around the bunker. Leo headed back to Nico and Reyna, who were relieved that nothing had been set on fire.

Leo was tucking in to his bowl of candy with Nico and Reyna when Jason tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Leo's hands set on fire. He scowled.

"Careful, you could kill someone with that," Jason joked. That was quite possibly the worst thing you could say to Leo at the moment. Leo's eyes darkened even further, now they were almost Nico-level, i.e. completely black.

Nico and Reyna paled in fear, and even Piper could see Leo was angry. Piper made a sound like a mouse being trodden on as she tried to tug her boyfriend away from the enraged fire user. Eventually, Piper gave up and ran to stand by Reyna and Nico, who were cowering in the corner of the bunker.

"Huh?" Jason said, thoroughly confused. Leo advanced on him with narrowed eyes like slits and an angry expression which looked very out of place on the son of Hephaestus' usually happy face. Leo formed a basketball-sized ball of fire in his right hand, and threw it at Jason. Jason ducked, and the fireball hit a nearby stack of celestial bronze which clattered to the floor.

"Man, what'd I do?" Jason asked, bewildered. "If it's about the clock, you don't _have_ to come and fix it."

Nico snorted, and Reyna supressed a giggle. Jason's cluelessness was funny, even if it _was_ dangerous too. Piper just looked confused. Leo prepared another fireball and was about to throw it when he decided against it and opened the large rock door. Jason promptly ran away, and Leo followed him, fireball in hand.

Reyna wordlessly gestured to the door. Nico and Piper looked terrified and shook their heads. Reyna rolled her eyes at them.

"We have to go, duh." She explained. "Leo could get hurt." Piper was about to mention Jason, but stopped when Reyna glared at her.

_timeskip_

Leo and Jason were circling each other in the forest when Piper, Nico and Reyna found them. _Drama queen Leo, _Jason thought. Jason realised just how much he disliked Leo at the moment, and drew his sword. Leo faltered for a moment after seeing this, but then a manic grin spread across his face as he drew two three-pound hammers from his toolbelt and set them on fire.

Suddenly Leo ran at Jason, so fast that the demigod couldn't anticipate what was happening. Leo had one hammer at Jason's throat, (thankfully not on fire) and the other one sliced a decent-sized cut down the son of Jupiter's arm. Jason's scowl deepened, seeing the blood. They had never actually hurt each other in a sparring match, Jason reminded himself, but there was a first time for everything. Jason quickly kicked at Leo's legs with all his might, and just managed to free himself.

Leo fell to the ground, but sprung up just as quickly. Jason was leaning against a tree, catching his breath. He couldn't see Leo. Leo decided to use his new trick, a move he'd been practicing for weeks but one that still leaves him drained of energy. He lit just his feet on fire, and concentrated on keeping a powerful sustained burn. He rose into the air and began to get higher. As he reached the treetops, he put slightly more energy into his left foot, so he turned right and was just above Jason, who was looking around for Leo.

"Coward!" Jason shouted, "Come and face me instead of running away!" Leo growled. "It's all you ever do, isn't it? Run away. It's all you're good for."

Leo was _really angry_ now. He threw a fireball straight down at Jason, who deflected it with his sword. Jason looked proud of himself, and then he saw his _imperial gold_ sword melted in a puddle on the floor.

"What?" Jason yelped as he looked up, "Since when could you fly?" he asked, buying himself time. Piper, Nico and Reyna looked just as surprised as Jason about Leo's new power from their position behind a tree.

"Ever heard of a rocket engine, bro?" Leo taunted. Leo threw another fireball, which Jason narrowly dodged.

Leo was summoning all the fire in his power into a massive fireball. Piper yelped as he prepared to throw it at Jason. Suddenly Jason narrowed his eyes in concentration, and the sky began to rumble. Leo didn't notice this, as he was concentrating more on not getting killed.

_Please, Father_, Jason thought, _save me._

Leo's last thought as the lightning struck him was

'_damn._'

**AN thanks guys. Review! Ideas a-p-p-r-e-c-i-a-t-e-d~!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Skip this bit if you like, it's not that important. **

**Please read my Batman story, First impressions. It's cool. **

**AN blimey! So many reviews! I'm so honoured, guys. And I don't think it's quite Rick Riordan standard yet, **_**awesomeness. ColonelCarterSG1, **_**I'm glad you like the story; I'm also waiting for HoH. But I'm not a robot, and do have a life outside ff. (I wish). I really don't wanna sound stalkerish, but I'd like to know what countries you guys are from, coz according to **_**traffic stats**_** I have readers in China. Nope. **

**Fluddershy- definitely not. If he was I wouldn't have a story.  
Guest who said it was wrong- Yeah, but they don't know his past.  
Lily Carlier- I'm sorry but I don't read, write, or speak Spanish but I do have Google translate, sorry if translation is rubbish; Leo no va a estar muerto, pero va a ser muy enojado con Jason, y también lo hará Piper, probablemente. Nico y Reyna también se molestaron.**

**the quill12 – yeah, that's why this chapter is set where it is. No interfering! **

**Onwards, fellow readers!**

Hera was _not _having a good day. She was fed up of her son's bickering at her _other_ husband. To top it all off, she had a splitting headache.

"But he attacked first!" The almighty Lord Jupiter muttered to his _sort of_ son, Hephaestus. The god of the forges was rarely seen angry, so it didn't come as a surprise to him when Olympians started to crowd around him.

"I don't care, you said no_ godly interference!_" the enraged god shot back. Hera sighed as the boys started bickering again.

"Look, there comes a point when arguing has no value." Athena spoke quietly, but as the Olympians were used to her good ideas they listened. "Let's just forget this ever happened!" As soon as she said that, there was uproar on Olympus.

"Forget this ever happened?! His brat attacked my _only_ demigod son!" Jupiter howled.

"He _himself _targeted mine!" Hephaestus countered. "And _no godly interference_, you said."

"Hey, at least nobody died!" yelled Hades, who had been invited down for the winter solstice, and was pleased by the lack of paperwork.

"Aww, they're arguing over whose son gets Piper!" Aphrodite interjected. Hephaestus stared at her, shaking his head slowly.

"No son of mine would fall for an airhead like your daughter!" He sneered.

"My daughter is _not_ an airhead, cripple!" Aphrodite shot back.

"Get back to the fight!" Ares said excitedly. Olympus was in turmoil as the gods bickered.

Athena stormed back into the room.

"SHUT UP!" she yelled. Everyone was shocked, then ashamed of themselves for arguing. Zeus/Jupiter looked indignantly at her as he said

"How dare yo-"

"Yes, I dare, because you lot are all bickering like babies." She answered.

Everyone looked a bit ashamed. The sky god bowed his head.

"We will just have to see what happens next."

**Mwahahahaaa! Sorry for the short chapter, but *wince* I was really busy. bye. **

**-****R****aptor**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN hi guys! Sorry I haven't updated this for a while, and I am **_**so**_** sorry for the rubbish chapter I left you with. I went camping! It was epic!**

**Also, I'm gonna be a bit bored in the holidays, so if anyone needs a Beta, check out my Beta Profile. I can do a lot of stories, and am quite good at correcting things. So, yeah. Thanks. Thanks to all the (annoying) lovely people who hassled me for another chapter. It got me motivated. Thanks. **

Reyna was panicking. She couldn't find _anyone_ from camp, anywhere. She was rushing around the unfamiliar place, calling for help, whilst Nico tried to heal Leo using Nectar. Finally, she heard a familiar voice as she approached the big house.

"What on earth happened?" Chiron asked, trotting up to her nervously. His horse tail flicked behind him anxiously.

"L-Leo, he got in a fight…" Reyna answered.

"Say no more. Where is the boy?"

"In the forest, he was fighting Jason, and, well," Reyna pointed to the still-thundering sky, "That happened."

Chiron cantered off towards the forest, before stopping and turning to Reyna.

"It would be best if you came too." He said, "Have you ever ridden a horse?" Without waiting for an answer, Chiron grabbed Reyna and pulled her onto his back, before quickly galloping off. Reyna had to hang on to the quiver of arrows around his back to avoid falling off the old centaur.

Finally, they reached the familiar clearing where the boys had been fighting. This time, though, Reyna could only see Leo and Nico, Jason was nowhere to be seen. Piper, also, couldn't be found. Reyna felt guilty she wasn't upset by the praetor's disappearance, but there were other things on her mind.

Chiron calmly slid Reyna off his back, before trotting up to the two demigods on the snowy floor. He quickly checked Leo's pulse before taking in the scene.

"Where is Jason?" the old centaur asked. To that, the demigods had no answer. Leo mumbled incoherently. Chiron turned back to him and tended to his wounds. He had scorch marks all down his left arm, and a gash across his face. He wasn't waking up, and had a huge cut on one arm. The snow was slowly turning a pinkish colour as the fire user's blood soaked it.

Chiron pulled out a piece of wood from his first aid kit. He pressed a few buttons on it, and then threw it at the ground. It promptly unfolded rapidly to become a stretcher. Chiron grimaced.

"He designed this himself," he told Nico and Reyna as he loaded Leo onto the stretcher, "I got the Apollo kids to approve it, though."

He pressed another button on the stretcher, and wheels popped out of it, large with black tires and grippy treads to keep the traction in muddy places. _Dang, that is one cool stretcher_¸ Nico thought, _But how are they going to move it-_

Another button was pressed on the wooden stretcher bearing Leo, and a rope harness was swiftly ejected from a drawer on the side. Chiron buckled this onto his horse half, not unlike a chariot harness, and turned around.

There was even a sign on the stretcher saying _'Injured coming through'_. Reyna sighed. Leo had clearly thought of everything.

Glumly, she and Nico followed Chiron back to the infirmary in the big house, where he carefully put Leo onto a clean white bed. Reyna's eyes narrowed as she saw something through the window from the corner of her eye. She quickly grabbed Nico's arm and pulled him out of the building, as Chiron tended to Leo's numerous cuts, gashes, and burns.

They sneaked around the back of the Big house and saw a flash of brown, accompanied by a choked sobbing sound.

Reyna followed the noise and found a very distressed daughter of Aphrodite, sitting under a tree. She quickly went up to Piper and gave her a hug, whilst Nico stood awkwardly nearby. Piper sniffed miserably.

"H-how could he do something like that?" She asked. The other two demigods immediately knew what she was talking about, "Leo didn't have a chance!"

Piper sniffled again before starting to cry. Reyna hugged her again, trying to calm her down.

"Hey, just think about it," Nico said quietly, "Leo was epic enough to get the King of the Gods to step in and break it up. He'll be okay."

Piper gave him a weak smile.

"But he was burned." She commented, and Nico and Reyna flinched. "That's a new thing for him, a lightning burn. He's never been burned before." Nico flinched and Reyna just closed her eyes for a second. "I had no idea Jason would… ask for help like that. It proves Leo is more powerful than we thought, but what does it prove about Jason?"

Nobody had an answer to that.

"Piper," Reyna began, "It's not your fault."

"The hell it is!" Piper's voice was rising, getting louder as she got angrier, "I should have stopped Jason before…" She trailed off.

"Piper, you wouldn't have been able to stop him. You know how he is when he gets angry." Reyna snapped back. It was true. When Jason was angry, he tended to lose all concept of logic and do things without thinking of the consequences. Jason was reckless. Uncontrollable. A liability.

Leo was also dangerous, but the son of Hephaestus always knew when to stop, when to calm down. That knowledge was a luxury the son of Jupiter was denied. Maybe it was hereditary.

Piper had calmed down considerably by this point, so Reyna stopped hugging her. "It's ok." She said comfortingly, "He'll be fine."

Piper sniffled again.

"Is it- is it wrong of me to be worried about Jason?" She asked.

"Oh, Piper. Of course it isn't. We all worry about our friends, even when they do bad things." Reyna replied.

"I'm just worried about how he's going to take this. He hates making mistakes, and…" Piper broke off, choking back a sob.

_That was a pretty big mistake,_ Nico thought. "I'm sure he'll deal with it fine."

"I'm not." A voice startled them. They turned around slowly, and then gasped. Jason was hovering a few feet away from them, an expression of pure guilt on his face.


	18. Chapter 18

**Yeah, I know I haven't updated this for ages, guys. I've been so busy writing my Young Justice stories and Order of the demigods. If you like this, you'll love it. It's Nico-centric, but has some extras thrown in too. Anyway, as rosesarered (guest) kindly reminded me, it **_**is**_** September and I did promise you an update. I warn you, it's short.**

Piper cringed at the expression on Jason's face-pure guilt, with a teensy bit of self-loathing as well. She stepped forward and hugged him, and he hugged her back, inhaling the smell of her hair and re-memorizing it.

"Where have you been?" Piper asked, angry at him for vanishing like that. Although she wanted to hate him for hurting Leo, she was worried about him too.

"I went to Camp Jupiter for a while. I thought…" _I thought it'd take away the guilt for a bit_. Piper scowled at him, and their silent conversation was quickly interrupted by a small dagger being thrown at Jason. It hit the tree just above his head. He yelped.

"Nico!" Piper scolded, but he threw her off with a glare. He then turned that glare onto Jason, ramping it up so his eyes seemed to smoulder almost like Hades'. Jason gulped.

"Uh…" He began.

Nico hissed.

"Have you ANY idea what you've done?" He said, his voice silkily smooth. This seemed to shock Jason more than being yelled at, as he flinched away into Piper's shoulder. "_He_ is in the big house, in medical, suffering from intense burns. _Burns._" He repeated, emphasizing the word.

"And that's not good for a pyrokinetic like him," Reyna interjected. "The shock of having physical burns could take away his powers for good." She finished, scowling at the son of Jupiter. Nico took over again.

"Not to mention the mental impact of this," He said, softly but somewhat menacingly. "You were his _best friend_, Jason, and you go and _attack_ him. I know you guys fell out, and I know why, and I know you were angry at each other. But you don't just go _attacking_ your friends, no matter how annoyed at said person you are."

Jason looked at Nico, shocked. The boy was usually so quiet and reserved, so it was strange for him to rant like this.

"I didn't know you guys were…friends." Piper said timidly. Reyna laughed hollowly.

"We, ah, helped him with a certain problem," She stated. "After which, we became friends, due to our specific similarities."

Piper was about to ask what similarities they shared, when a dark look from Jason stopped her. She could tell he'd figured it out, and Nico and Reyna knew too.

"Who?" He asked hoarsely. Nico and Reyna shared a nervous glance before having a whispered conversation.

"We shouldn't tell them," Nico argued quietly, "I wouldn't want…" He trailed off.

"The time for secrets is past," Reyna retorted. She turned back to Jason.

"His mother," She answered.

"How?" Piper asked. It would seem Jason explained whilst they were talking.

Reyna and Nico winced.

"Fire," He said, voice breaking at the end. Jason and Piper looked down.

"How?" She asked again. "Was it…?" She silently asked.

"Yes." Reyna replied. "Not his fault. Gaia-" She was interrupted by the arrival of Chiron. He had a solemn look on his face.

**Bwahahahaaa! Aren't I evil? **

**I told you it was short. Hope ya like it!**

**-Violet Out. **


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